Reviews by freed:

Had this on tap at OBF06. Twice. Was going back for a full glass when the "All out for today" sign got put up. Noooo!

Body is an elecric pine sap golden and almost dark enough that it resembles amber. You'd almost expect to find a fossilized hop in it. Great clarity and very active carbonation - it's a sight to behold.

The aroma is intense. Fresh cut spruce, resiny green, but without any acrid smells.

Taste contains a surplus of awesome. Explosion of citrus hops and a long, pitchy bitterness that escorts you through the drink. There's a mouthful of malt that resonates with the bitterness so it doesn't completely overwhelm the palate. The intense flavors also camouflage the high gravity.

More User Reviews:

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. First time with this beer and I'm really stoked. Expectations can't possibly be met.

Poured lighter than expected for a double, but glassy and beautiful. Slight pale head.

Smells are what you would expect from the style. Very fresh smelling. Hops with more hops. Again, very fresh smelling.

The nose didn't lie. This isn't an overly citrus nor an overly piney hop bomb. It is what occurs when everything is balanced. Nothing jumps out and blows you up. It's just a very easy drinking, beautiful hoppy lovefest. The thing that separates this beer from its imitators and competitors is that you really want to drink the hell out of it, not just taste it over and over because it's good.

Mouthful is nice, not too resiny, and malt is clean and fresh. As soon as you swallow it, your mouth needs a refill. Just balance.

Somehow the hype matched the eexperience. In all facets of life, that's rare. By as many of these as you can and share with friends. Wow. (999 characters)

NOTE: If you are drinking this beer about 2 months past its freshness date then you are not getting the full experience.

500ml brown bottle with a bottled on freshness date.

Mildly hazed orange golden color, solid two fingers of head leave a nice crowning of sticky lace that leaves thick rings on the glass. Big hop aroma of evergreen, clementine rind, pineapple and fresh cut grass. Super smooth with a modest amount of carbonation. Prickly spicy hop bitterness with citric, mint and wild flower flavors that linger far into the aftertaste. Hint of nutty yeast and a big handful of biscuity malt are thrown at the palate and actually shows that this beer has balance. Full bursting orange grove flavor. The 8.0% stays hidden for the most part yet does yield a slow warmth about half way through the pint, a bit of ripe tropical fruitiness within from the esters. Finishes with that long drawn out hop bitterness and flavor as it leans towards the dry side.

Epic, a deserving epic as well even with all of the hype surrounding PTY. Pliny The Elder is the poster-boy for Double IPAs. Every hophead needs to put this on their must try list. (1,142 characters)

One of the best labels in the world and a great wake-up call for overzealous über beer geeks who feel the need to age any and all beers. "Drink fresh, do not age! Pliny the Elder is a historical figure, don't make the beer inside this bottle one ... Age your cheese, not your Pliny ... Pliny is for savoring, not for saving!" Love it. "Respect hops, consume fresh!"

Light honey amber in color, topped with a big, fluffy, creamy white head with a ton of glass stickage. Massive ripe pineapple aroma in the nose, with pine, mint, sappy resins, powdery pale malts and a hint of alcohol. Silky smooth, medium bodied, with a very firm consistency and slightly chewy back. Hop presence is artfully chaotic. Nice prickly stab on the palate up front, semisharp bitterness, grassy, zesty grapefruit, deep smacking of ripe pineapple and pine. Juicy fruitiness, notes of apple and pear too. Dry middle with suggestions of chalky aspirin. Bready malts, soft and sweet, provide a nice backboard for the hops. Oily and ashy hop resins stick to the palate and follow through into a dry, bitter linger. Alcohol becomes sentient as the beer warms, speaking to us in tongues. And despite this, remains insanely drinkable.

Pours from the bottle a clear golden apricot with two fingers of white head. It reduces to foam, leaving heavy lacing. Loads of citrus, tropical fruits and pine in the aroma. There's plenty of piney hops, but it's nicely balanced with grapefruit, mango and pineapple. There's enough malt to give it a nice creaminess. Medium mouth with a touch of lingering bitterness. This certainly lives up to its reputation. Being Valentine's Day, it reminds me of my wife: Close to perfection and better than I deserve. (507 characters)

Popped open a bottle and poured into a chilled stein ... Big shout out to Neil at Red Carpet in Rancho Cucamonga for providing a bottle out of his personal stash!

A: 3.75 - Deep golden hue with almost no head on a slow pour, very thin and dark cream colored. Has an appearance of a typical adjunct lager. Lacing is insane, dense foam clings to the side of the glass.

S: 5 - BIG grapefruit, citrus and floral notes smack you in the nose, trailed by a dense, woody pine backdrop. I'm also detecting some dried fruit like cherries, peaches and figs. The fruitiness of this beer is VERY assertive.

T: 4.75 - The taste follows the smell, with a burst of citrus fruits, dried peaches, and deep pine notes. There is also a strong malty backbone with this one that keeps it from being overpowered by its intense hoppiness. The aftertaste is of strong bitterness from the hops that lingers for an eternity. It might be too much for the uninitiated, bit for hop-heads, it might be paradise.

Overall - 4.75: All in all, this is my second divine experience tasting a Russian River offering. Normally, I'm not an IPA fan, but the fruity blend of hops here is so excellent - it's perfectly balanced with strong, sweet malt that keeps the aggressive hop flavor in check. The aftertaste was a bit strong, but that was easily remedied with another sip. The worst part of this beer is that it will be gone soon and I'll have to wait until I can reserve another! (1,584 characters)

Appearance - This came out a hazy, beautiful orange in color with a big, hefty white head.

Smell - This fella has a monster hop profile. The Pliny is piney, that's for sure. There actually seems to be a couple variations of pine smell in here along with some strong floral notes that carry that raw "off the vine" hop fragrance. The citrus hops are rich and sweetish.

Besides all that, this puppy has a huge malt profile. They aren't really toasted at all but have more of a caramel character. All and all this thing is packing quite a wallop!

Taste - This is a big, bountiful DIPA, full of all the delicious flavors from the aroma. All of the hops work in harmony to provide an amazing hop experience with every sip. The malts don't let up for a minute, either. The thick, caramel malts remind me of the 90 Minute. Everything is big yet very well balanced, in a massive hop-head kind of way.

Mouthfeel - This is big but I'd still call it medium-bodied. It is slickly smooth in the cheeks and dangerously easy to drink.

Drinkability - This goes down like none other. The Younger is bigger but doesn't go down as easy as this. At 8.0 ABV I'm sure this has snuck up on many a Russian River patron over the years.

Update - I first reviewed this in 2006 and had a chance to sample it from the bottle again in 2010. It is raw this year and has a monstrous pine aroma. The flavor will cause the uninitiated to dial 911. As massive as the hops are in this beer, to me, still as I said four years ago, it is the malt backbone that separates this man from the boys. I've seen a few examples like this of hop overkill, but this is the only really big monster hop beer that tries to be a true, complete, well-rounded beer if you know what I mean. Most won't even notice the malt base as this one is so hoppy, but it's that almost unnoticeable malt backbone that completes the package. (1,879 characters)

Bottle dated 5/15 so a tad over a month old. I've been waiting for this.

A- Creamy white head disappeared into a thin whisky head with nice lacing. Pours a hazy yellow.

S- Grass, pine, orange peel, nice floral notes

T- really delicious. A lot of grass and pine with some citrus notes as well. Much more balanced than I expected. Really pleasant hop flavors without a big punch to the mouth. The finish is fairly clean, some hop character lingers.

M- medium body, creamy, perfect carbonation.

O- worth its reputation. Not a super hop bomb, but a more balanced DIPA. Really nice fresh floral grass and Pune notes and a perfect mouthfeel. Very happy I was able to try this. (676 characters)

O - I've had Pliny tons, but having a 4 day old bottle in So Cal was a treat. People say this is a fast fader, but it doesn't get much better than this - for the West Coast style - when fresh. Highest of recommendations. (720 characters)

Golden shimmering with lightGlorious tiny bubblesAroma of pineapple , lemon zest, candied orange wedgesTaste as smell with sweet tart citrus zing, bittering dry finish. Not a bitter bomb, as there is some malt sweetness with nuances of Mango Lightish mouthfeel thatt corresponds to 8% Abv. Not syrupy or tongue coating. The lingering perceptions is dry hops, not sugar.

It really is THAT good. It's hard to believe that it lived up to the hype. If you are looking for an astringent, bitter, hop overload to point of excess: it's not for you. Try Palate Wrecker or Devi Dancer. This has fineness, subtlety, and craftsmanship while bringing hops to the forefront.

Previous double/single ipa favorites: NEBCO Ghandi Bot, Bells Hopslam, Founders Harvest Wet Hop, Deschutes Chasin Freshies: This is right there at the top with its perfect balance of flavors and mouthfeel.

Art in a glass. Great beer makes me slow down and savor every sip. I didn't want this one to end (979 characters)

Well, I was excited to try this one and the beer lived up to the hype. Apex Portland had this on tap and I happened to be in town. As it warmed I actually got more of the subtleties here. The bitter forward, grapefruit centered hop profile shines here and proves to be the star as the blend of dankness and sweet slight malt kicks in on the back end. (350 characters)

Appearance: a yellow to dull golden color. Fairly good clarity but some slight haze to it. A finger of a frothy head that hardly fades at all and leaves a huge lacing on the sides. A damn good looking dipa

Smell: pine, citrus, herbal. Lots of hops but a fairly generous amount of sweet and lighter crystal malts to it. The malts are just a touch too sweet for me.

Taste: opens up with a good dose of sweet crystal malts. Backend is full of hops. Pine is first, then comes herbal and some floral. Some citrus. A bit of bitter resiny hops.

This was exceptional, three weeks in the bottle. Well sought out, highly hyped up, and lived up to every last praise. Picked up a couple of 510s at BDBS in Gaslamp (they were in the back), and immediately cracked a cold one back at the hotel. The only thing that may have improved this is my Spiegelau! Beautiful orange/amber color with a finger of white head. Huge West Coast IIPA nose full of citrus (orange, lemon) and strong pine. Similar notes to taste, yet exceptionally pronounced. Opened up greatly as the brew was slowly sipped and savored. Clean, dry finish. The benchmark for the IIPA style for me moving forward. (624 characters)

This beer is like giving a grapefruit permission to discharge in your mouth. I always tried to deny that I liked grapefruit, but this beer helped me come out of the closet.

I love this beer and I purposefully bring different friends to the store every Tuesday (delivery day) so that they can buy the maximum amount that is allowed per visit (2). Then once the closing clerk is on the clock, I tell my wife that I'll bring her to dinner if she'll come in and buy separately buy her 2 Pliny's (they only allow 3 Pliny's to be sold per group).

On a good week, I enjoy 8 Pliny's. On a better week, I go to the bar 1-2x's and help them sell it out in the first 1-2 days that it's delivered.

Yes, I know that I have a problem. At least I get to enjoy my problem more than you. (779 characters)

Look clear golden with 2 finger head.Smell pine with grape fruity citrus underneath Taste Follows the smell pine up front finishes dry with citrus great beer.Feel a little light but still full enough to coat the whole mouth.Overall this is a great beer! One of my favorites I would highly recommend anyone trade for it if at all possible. (342 characters)